Australia’s first national self-exclusion register for online and phone gambling has taken a major step forward.

People will be able to exclude for anywhere between three months to permanently. Exclusion will cover licenced online and telephone betting services such as those offering betting on horse racing and sports. Providers will also be prohibited from directly advertising and promoting to any self-excluded person.

While the register is being implemented, people can contact individual wagering providers to self-exclude from their services or register with other existing programs, such as that offered by the Northern Territory Racing Commission, which covers many of the large corporate bookmakers in Australia.